Sanna Treijs on the state of the housing market

How has the pandemic affected the housing market, and what could 2021 look like for those considering selling?
The housing market looks good and stable right now with a normal supply and many buyers looking for their new home. It has been a very strange 2020, with a pandemic that emerged in the spring and paralyzed the market for a month. Many buyers had already bought their new homes and quickly needed to put their current homes up for sale, while there were also many speculators who hadn’t bought yet but chose to sell their homes with hopes of selling high and buying when the market (as they thought) would decline in price as the pandemic unfolded. However, the outcome didn’t turn out that way. Instead, what happened was that many waited for a price drop that never came, which created a high demand right after the summer and throughout the fall.

In the fall, the demand also increased from those who realized they would likely be working from home for an extended period and started to reconsider their housing situation, taking action on the long-held idea of buying a larger home. The apartments that have had, and still have, it a bit tougher are the very smallest ones, like studio and one-bedroom apartments, where the influx of buyers has not been as large in 2020. My analysis of this is that this buyer group is usually first-time buyers who have likely been more affected by unemployment or furloughs and thus had to delay their entry into the housing market.

I believe in a stable market, and that we will stay around the level we reached after the fall's upturn. I don't see any trends pointing to an increase or decrease. I believe the market for smaller apartments will "recover" and return to normal demand after the summer. But of course, everything depends on the outcome with the vaccine and whether the spread of the virus picks up again or not.

Choose your real estate agent carefully, as choosing the right one is more important than ever. The right choice of agency and agent can ultimately mean several hundred thousand more in your pocket. Choose an agent who knows your area, who has the buyers, the marketing, and the commitment to do something extra for your sale. Don't get fixated on the commission, but listen to what the agent includes in the price and what they can do specifically for you. If you pay for a Ford, you get a Ford; if you pay for a Porsche, you get a Porsche — it's that simple.

Sanna Treijs
Registered Real Estate Agent, Södermalm
0708-99 79 70
sanna.treijs@notar.se